It is with sadness that we share the news that Eric Carman has passed away at the age of 74. Born in Cleveland, Eric was a musical prodigy who dreamed of a career as a concert pianist. That dream changed radically when the Beatles hit the scene in the early 60s and Eric decided he’d rather be a rock star instead.
Eric rose to fame as leader of the group the Raspberries. They scored a number of hits in the 1970s, beginning with “Go All the Way.” Carmen went on to even greater success as a solo artist with such hits as “All by Myself,” “Hungry Eyes,” and “Make Me Lose Control.”
Here is a recent photo of two rock & roll legends, who hadn't met until now. Do you recognize them? Here they are just a few short years ago - Tommy James and Connie Francis!
We are currently involved in a project, trying to commit to digital files the entire run of the Beatles official British fan magazine, Beatle Book Monthly. This magazine was never distributed in America, so most of these pictures and articles have never been seen in the States. The magazine ran from August, 1963 (6 months before Beatlemania broke out in the States) until the band's break-up in 1970.
Take a look at the center spread from the magazine's very first issue. Notice anything different about Ringo's bass drum?
BTW - If you'd be interested in obtaining a copy of these magazines once we have finished converting them to digital copies, contact us!
Part of the initial British invasion, the folk-influenced pop duo of Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde went on to rack up 7 Top 40 hits in the U.S. before the shift to progressive rock made their brand of soft standards passé.
As popular as the boys were on this side of the pond, it’s surprising they had very little success in their native England, managing only one hit record (their very first, “Yesterday’s Gone”)!
David Stuart Chadwick and Michael Thomas Jeremy Clyde met while attending school in the UK. It was the future Chad Stuart who taught Clyde how to play the guitar. They performed as a folk duo, then formed a rock band called the Jerks, before finally settling into the musical identity they would hold for the rest of their careers.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dick Pillar and His Polka Posse have had to cancel this year's Polkabration. Refunds available where you bought your tickets.
Annette Kleinbard was the female vocalist in The Teddy Bears, who, along with Phil Spector and Marshall Leib, had a 1958 hit called "To Know Him Is To Love Him". She later changed her name to Carol Connors and went on to co-write The Ripchords' 1964 hit "Hey Little Cobra", "Gonna Fly Now" (The Theme From Rocky), as well as the 1980 Billy Preston / Syreeta Wright duet "With You I'm Born Again".
An article from the official magazine of the Beatles Fan Club in the UK - Issue #11 June, 1964:
Have your own living room rave with Sheboygan's newest hitmakers!
A Hidden Treasure From Rock & Soul’s Golden Era
A series of posts about albums you may have missed back in the day when so much good music was coming out on nearly a daily basis. But now that the real “good stuff” is few and far between, you might want to backtrack and add these gems to your music collection.
It happens so often in rock music. Artists struggle for years with albums the critics love but record buyers ignore. Then they finally break through to a wider audience and go on to long, successful careers. Yet, those earlier albums remain, for the most part, ignored.
Such is the case with Boz Scagg’s “Slow Dancer” in 1974. It was his 6th album and his 6th commercial failure. Yet, many die hard Boz fans will tell you “Slow Dancer” is his best album. We don’t think they’re wrong.
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Uh... I believe the answer is, "No.".
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